Article of jewelry with interchangeable settings and decorative elements

ABSTRACT

An article of jewelry with interchangeable settings and decorative elements is provided. Each interchangeable setting includes a post having a post shoulder and a pair of tabs. The post is removable received and retained by a socket of the article of jewelry by inserting the post into the socket and rotating the setting to position the tabs in a retained position within a pair of corresponding grooves formed in the socket. An end of the socket abuts the post shoulder and prevents the interchangeable setting from side-to-side movement. Decorative elements are rotatably retained by the post between the setting and the socket.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to jewelry, and more particularly, relating to a new article of jewelry with interchangeable settings and decorative elements.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Jewelry with interchangeable settings provides the ability to change the jewelry style according to preference. Examples of jewelry with interchangeable settings are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,077,989; 5,456,095; and 7,222,503. While these devices fulfil their respective objectives and requirements they have many inherent drawbacks. For example, none of these devices include an article of jewelry with interchangeable settings and with decorative elements. Additionally, none of the devices securely retain the interchangeable setting without considerable movement of the setting relative to the rest of the jewelry item. Accordingly, there is a need for a new article of jewelry with interchangeable settings and decorative elements that overcomes the drawback of the prior devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of jewelry with interchangeable settings now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new construction of an article of jewelry with interchangeable settings and decorative elements.

In general, in one aspect, an article of jewelry includes a setting, a socket, and at least one decorative element. The setting has a retainer, a post extending outwardly from a bottom of the retainer, a post shoulder, and a pair of tabs at an end of the post at diametrically opposed positions and extending in opposite directions that are generally perpendicular to the post. The socket has cavity, an opening through an end of the socket into the cavity, and a pair of diametrically opposed horizontal grooves formed through an inner wall of the cavity and a leaf spring captively retained within the cavity of the socket.

The setting is positionable in a connected configuration where the post is disposed through the opening, the pair of tabs are positioned in the horizontal grooves and are frictionally retained therein by the leaf spring biasing against the post, and with the end of the socket abutting the post shoulder against side-to-side movement. And, further when the setting is in the connected configuration, the bottom of the setting is spaced a distance from the end of the socket, and the at least one decorative element is disposed within that spaced distance and rotatably retained therein by the post extending through the hole of the decorative element.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated.

Numerous objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description of presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative, embodiments of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of descriptions and should not be regarded as limiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following drawings illustrate by way of example and are included to provide further understanding of the invention for the purpose of illustrative discussion of the embodiments of the invention. No attempt is made to show structural details of the embodiments in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the invention may be embodied in practice. Identical reference numerals do not necessarily indicate an identical structure. Rather, the same reference numeral may be used to indicate a similar feature of a feature with similar functionality. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an illustrative side elevation view of an article of jewelry with interchangeable settings and decorative elements constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the article of jewelry with interchangeable settings and decorative elements taken along line 2-2 in FIG. 1, illustrating the connection and arrangement of the various elements of the article of jewelry;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a socket of the article of jewelry with interchangeable settings and decorative elements;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged top plan view of the socket illustrated in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an illustrative side elevation view of an interchangeable setting of the article of jewelry constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the interchangeable setting shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is an illustrative perspective view a socket of the article of jewelry constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, showing tab grooves formed through an inner wall of a cavity of the socket;

FIG. 8 is an illustrative perspective view of an interchangeable decorative element of the article of jewelry constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 is an illustrative perspective view of an alternative interchangeable decorative element of the article of jewelry constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the interchangeable decorative element taken along line 10-10 in FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the interchangeable decorative element taken along line 11-11 in FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is an illustrative view of an article of jewelry with interchangeable settings and decorative elements in the form of a pendant constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 13 is an illustrative view of an article of jewelry with interchangeable settings and decorative elements in the form of a wrist band constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1-6, an article of jewelry 10, representatively illustrated as a ring, has a socket 12 to which a setting 14 is removably connected. Setting 14 is representatively illustrated having a retainer 16 and an ornament element 18 that is securely retained by or attached to the retainer 16. Ornament element 18 can be, for example, a precious or non-precious stone or gem, pearl, precious or non-precious metal, or any other decorative element.

A post 20 extends outwardly from the retainer 16 in a direction oppositely of ornament element 18, and is removably received and retained by the socket 12 so as to connect the setting 14 to the socket. Specifically, the end of the post 20 is diametrically reduced by a circumferential groove 21 which forms a pair of tabs 22 and a post shoulder 23. Tabs 22 are disposed at the end of the post, at diametrically opposed positions along the circumference of the post, and extend in opposite directions that are generally perpendicular to the post. Although, as illustrated, the tabs 22 do not extend beyond the circumference of post 20, it is possible for tabs 22 to extend beyond the circumference of post 20.

Socket 12 forms a centrally disposed cavity 24 into which the post 20 is receivable through slotted opening 25 formed through end 30 and into the cavity. A pair of diametrically opposed, horizontal grooves 26 are formed in the inner wall 28 of cavity 24. Grooves 26 are sized and shaped to correspond to the shape of tabs 22 such that tabs 22 are able to slide along the grooves. To this end, setting 14 is connected to socket 12 by aligning tabs 22 with slotted opening 25, inserting post 20 into cavity 24 until tabs become aligned with grooves 26, at which point, the setting is rotated clockwise so as to slide tabs 22 along grooves 26 to their ends.

A leaf spring 34 is captively held in socket 12 and biases upwardly against the end of post 20 as it is inserted into cavity 24. The leaf spring 34 must be partially deflected or compressed by urging the post 20 into the leaf spring to permit alignment of tabs 22 with grooves 26. And, the leaf spring 34 continues to biases upwardly with tabs 22 positioned in grooves 26, thereby urging the tabs upwardly into the top surface of grooves 26 and frictionally preventing counter rotation of setting 14. Further post shoulder 23 abuts against end 30 of the socket 12, thereby preventing the setting from rocking side-to-side relative to the socket, thus eliminate undesirable play between the setting and the socket.

The article of jewelry 10 further includes one or more decorative elements, such as elements 38 and 40, disposed on post 20 between the socket 12 and the setting 14. The decorative elements can be made from any material as desired and can have an unlimited number of shapes and surface features. That is, the decorative elements are not limited to the specific shapes and surface features that are illustrated herein. Each decorative element includes a hole 42 through which the post 20 extends. Hole 42 is of a diameter that is slightly larger than the diameter of the post 20 such that the decorative elements are free to spin around the post.

The length of post 20 and the depth of grooves 26 from end 30 of the socket 12 are configured such that the bottom 36 of setting 14 is spaced at a distance from end 30 of the socket when the setting 14 is connected to the socket. This distance permits the positioning of decorative elements, such as elements 38 and 40, on post 20 between the bottom 36 of the setting 14 and end 30 of socket 12 without clamping the decorative elements. Specifically, the distance must be slightly greater than the combined thickness of decorative elements 38 and 40 such that the post 20 along this distance is substantially covered by the decorative elements and that the decorative elements are free to spin around the post.

While the article of jewelry 10 is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 has having two decorative elements, any number of decorative elements could be used so long as their combined thickness does not exceed the critical thickness X which is slightly less than the distance between the setting 14 and socket 12. For example, a single decorative element 44 is shown in FIG. 9 that could be used in place of the two decorative elements 38 and 40. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, element 40 has a thickness equal to 0.5X and element 44 has a thickness equal to X. Similarly, and while not illustrated, it is within the scope of the invention that more than two separate decorative elements could be used so long as their combined thickness equal X.

While the above description has been made in connection with the article of jewelry being a ring, other articles of jewelry are possible and fall within the scope of the invention. For example, the article of jewelry could be a pendant, shown in FIG. 12, the article of jewelry could be a wrist band, shown in FIG. 13, or any other article of jewelry, including, but not limited to ear rings, head bands, body piercings, etc. It is also contemplated that jewelry sets including one or more settings, one or more decorative elements, or a combination thereof could be provided in addition to a base set article of jewelry to allow for even more customization.

A number of embodiments of the present invention have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An article of jewelry, comprising: a setting having a retainer, a post extending outwardly from a bottom of said retainer, a post shoulder, and a pair of tabs at an end of said post at diametrically opposed positions and extending in opposite directions that are generally perpendicular to said post; a socket having cavity, an opening through an end of said socket into said cavity, and a pair of diametrically opposed horizontal grooves formed through an inner wall of said cavity; a leaf spring captively retained within said cavity of said socket; at least one decorative element having a hole; said setting being positionable in a connected configuration and when in said connected configuration said post is disposed through said opening, said pair of tabs are positioned in said horizontal grooves and frictionally retained therein by said leaf spring biasing against said post, and said end of said socket abuts said post shoulder; and further wherein when said setting is in said connected configuration said bottom of said setting is spaced a distance from said end of said socket, and said at least one decorative element is disposed within said spaced distance and rotatably retained therein by said post extending through said hole of said decorative element.
 2. The article of jewelry of claim 1, wherein said horizontal grooves are positioned from said end of said socket and said post is of a length such that said spaced distance between said bottom of said setting and said end of said socket is greater than the thickness of the at least one decorative element.
 3. The article of jewelry of claim 1, wherein said opening through said end of said socket is a slotted opening.
 4. The article of jewelry of claim 1, wherein said post includes a circumferential groove and said circumferential groove at least partially defining said pair of tabs.
 5. The article of jewelry of claim 1, wherein said pair of tabs are sandwiched between outward longitudinal surfaces of said horizontal grooves and said leaf spring when said setting is in said connected configuration.
 6. The article of jewelry of claim 1, wherein said post, said retainer, said pair of tabs are integrally formed.
 7. The article of jewelry of claim 1, further comprising: ornament element retained by said retainer.
 8. The article of jewelry of claim 1, wherein the article of jewelry is a finger ring.
 9. The article of jewelry of claim 1, wherein the article of jewelry a wrist band.
 10. The article of jewelry of claim 1, wherein the article of jewelry is a pendant.
 11. An article of jewelry, comprising: a setting having a retainer, a post extending outwardly from a bottom of said retainer, and a pair of tabs at an end of said post at diametrically opposed positions and extending in opposite directions that are generally perpendicular to said post; an ornament element retained by said retainer; a socket having cavity, an opening through an end of said socket into said cavity, and a pair of diametrically opposed horizontal grooves formed through an inner wall of said cavity; a leaf spring captively retained within said cavity of said socket; at least one decorative element having a hole; wherein said setting being positionable in a connected configuration and when in said connected configuration said post is disposed through said opening, said pair of tabs are positioned in said horizontal grooves and frictionally retained therein by said leaf spring biasing against said post, and said end of said socket abuts said post shoulder; wherein when said setting is in said connected configuration said bottom of said setting is spaced a distance from said end of said socket, and said at least one decorative element is disposed within said spaced distance and rotatably retained therein by said post extending through said hole of said decorative element; and wherein said horizontal grooves are positioned from said end of said socket and said post is of a length such that said spaced distance between said bottom of said setting and said end of said socket is greater than the thickness of the at least one decorative element.
 12. The article of jewelry of claim 11, wherein said post, said retainer, said pair of tabs are integrally formed.
 13. The article of jewelry of claim 11, wherein said opening through said end of said socket is a slotted opening.
 14. The article of jewelry of claim 11, wherein said post includes a circumferential groove and said circumferential groove at least partially defining said pair of tabs.
 15. The article of jewelry of claim 11, wherein said pair of tabs are sandwiched between outward longitudinal surfaces of said horizontal grooves and said leaf spring when said setting is in said connected configuration.
 16. The article of jewelry of claim 11, wherein the article of jewelry is a finger ring.
 17. The article of jewelry of claim 11, wherein the article of jewelry is a wrist band.
 18. The article of jewelry of claim 11, wherein the article of jewelry wherein is a pendant. 